Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
In a stunning about-face, 19 steamship lines and six U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports have agreed to certify the gross mass of an ocean container, and then use the information as evidence that U.S. exporters have complied with an international treaty requiring that each box have a verified weight before it can be placed aboard ship.
The compact between the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) and ports in Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Houston, calls for a uniform "terminal weighing approach" to provide what has become known as the "verified gross mass" (VGM) of each container about to be laden on a vessel. Each terminal would weigh a container on certified scales, the results from which exporters could use to certify that the accurate weight had been calculated. Under a 2014 amendment to the century-old Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) treaty, shippers are required by July 1 to provide verified container weight information to the carrier or terminal operator before their containers can be loaded. The amendment has the force of law in the 170 nations that are part of the International Maritime organization (IMO), which administers the treaty.
In a statement issued yesterday, OCEMA said its proposal "aims to ensure fluidity" of operations at the six participating ports, and would "provide flexibility" for exporters shipping from there. OCEMA Chairman Frank Grossi called the proposal "an unprecedented effort" by ports and carriers to ensure a common VGM framework by the July 1 deadline. The proposal must be approved by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). FMC Chairman Mario Cordero said today that the plan is under review.
U.S. exporter interests said the proposal moves OCEMA off a previously inflexible approach to resolving the issue. It also represents a change of heart at the Georgia Ports Authority, which operates the Savannah container port, the nation's fourth busiest. In a mid-February interview, outgoing Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz said shippers should be the parties responsible for certifying the total weight because they know the specifics of their shipments better than anyone. Foltz retires from the GPA June 30.
Perhaps more significant, the agreement appears to relieve exporters of what they called the unreasonable burden of certifying the tare weight of empty containers that they neither own nor control. Exporters have said they would continue to certify the weight of the contents of the container. Details of the proposal were still being worked out as of yesterday, OCEMA and the ports said.
Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, which represents U.S. agricultural and forest-products exporters, said today that the carriers, which pushed for the amendment over concerns an illegally overloaded vessel in transit could be damaged or sunk, "thought they could do this in the dark of night" via the IMO process. "And they almost got away with it," he added.
The situation changed in late April, when the U.S. Coast Guard, the lead U.S. agency on SOLAS because it involves maritime safety, called for a flexible, multi-stakeholder approach to resolving the problem and signed off on two methods it would find acceptable under international rules. The Coast Guard's action was a setback for OCEMA, Friedmann said.
The U.S. House and Senate subsequently held hearings where exporters voiced their concerns over compliance. Late Wednesday night, Sen. John Thune, (R-S.D.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee and is the Senate's leading lawmaker on transport issues, requested the FMC brief his staff by month's end on the amendment's potential effect on exporters, the steps industry is taking to comply with the language, and whether carriers and terminal operators are acting within the legal boundaries of the agreements that are on file with the agency.
Friedmann expects further movement from the IMO and ports to avert what he has called a "catastrophe" if nothing changes from the amendment's current language. There has been no word from any of the major West Coast ports, or from New York and New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, or the Florida ports, on a possible agreement with carriers. Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, said terminal operators there and at the adjacent Port of Los Angeles, which together comprise the nation's busiest port complex, are weighing their options. "Their current position is that they will not provide weighing services," Wong said.
In his letter to FMC Chairman Cordero, Thune said a broad range of U.S. exporters "continue to raise concerns" over the amendment's implementation on the technological, regulatory and commercial fronts. Thune said the FMC should inform his office of "any appropriate actions to prevent unnecessary disruptions, delays, or burdens to our nation's supply chain."
In an interview yesterday, Cordero said that the agency is engaged in the issue and that Sen. Thune is "taking advantage of our expertise" in evaluating the amendment's impact on the seagoing supply chain. Cordero said he was optimistic shipper, carrier, port, and terminal-operator interests will find common ground before July 1.
Up till now, the FMC has acted in a facilitator's role, helping improve communications and bridging differences among stakeholders.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
The global air cargo market’s hot summer of double-digit demand growth continued in August with average spot rates showing their largest year-on-year jump with a 24% increase, according to the latest weekly analysis by Xeneta.
Xeneta cited two reasons to explain the increase. First, Global average air cargo spot rates reached $2.68 per kg in August due to continuing supply and demand imbalance. That came as August's global cargo supply grew at its slowest ratio in 2024 to-date at 2% year-on-year, while global cargo demand continued its double-digit growth, rising +11%.
The second reason for higher rates was an ocean-to-air shift in freight volumes due to Red Sea disruptions and e-commerce demand.
Those factors could soon be amplified as e-commerce shows continued strong growth approaching the hotly anticipated winter peak season. E-commerce and low-value goods exports from China in the first seven months of 2024 increased 30% year-on-year, including shipments to Europe and the US rising 38% and 30% growth respectively, Xeneta said.
“Typically, air cargo market performance in August tends to follow the July trend. But another month of double-digit demand growth and the strongest rate growths of the year means there was definitely no summer slack season in 2024,” Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said in a release.
“Rates we saw bottoming out in late July started picking up again in mid-August. This is too short a period to call a season. This has been a busy summer, and now we’re at the threshold of Q4, it will be interesting to see what will happen and if all the anticipation of a red-hot peak season materializes,” van de Wouw said.
The report cites data showing that there are approximately 1.7 million workers missing from the post-pandemic workforce and that 38% of small firms are unable to fill open positions. At the same time, the “skills gap” in the workforce is accelerating as automation and AI create significant shifts in how work is performed.
That information comes from the “2024 Labor Day Report” released by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm.
“We continue to see a labor shortage and an urgent need to upskill the current workforce to adapt to the new world of work,” said Michael Lotito, Littler shareholder and co-chair of WPI. “As corporate executives and business leaders look to the future, they are focused on realizing the many benefits of AI to streamline operations and guide strategic decision-making, while cultivating a talent pipeline that can support this growth.”
But while the need is clear, solutions may be complicated by public policy changes such as the upcoming U.S. general election and the proliferation of employment-related legislation at the state and local levels amid Congressional gridlock.
“We are heading into a contentious election that has already proven to be unpredictable and is poised to create even more uncertainty for employers, no matter the outcome,” Shannon Meade, WPI’s executive director, said in a release. “At the same time, the growing patchwork of state and local requirements across the U.S. is exacerbating compliance challenges for companies. That, coupled with looming changes following several Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to upend rulemaking, gives C-suite executives much to contend with in planning their workforce-related strategies.”
Stax Engineering, the venture-backed startup that provides smokestack emissions reduction services for maritime ships, will service all vessels from Toyota Motor North America Inc. visiting the Toyota Berth at the Port of Long Beach, according to a new five-year deal announced today.
Beginning in 2025 to coincide with new California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, STAX will become the first and only emissions control provider to service roll-on/roll-off (ro-ros) vessels in the state of California, the company said.
Stax has rapidly grown since its launch in the first quarter of this year, supported in part by a $40 million funding round from investors, announced in July. It now holds exclusive service agreements at California ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Benicia, Richmond, and Oakland. The firm has also partnered with individual companies like NYK Line, Hyundai GLOVIS, Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US (Shell), and now Toyota.
Stax says it offers an alternative to shore power with land- and barge-based, mobile emissions capture and control technology for shipping terminal and fleet operators without the need for retrofits.
In the case of this latest deal, the Toyota Long Beach Vehicle Distribution Center imports about 200,000 vehicles each year on ro-ro vessels. Stax will keep those ships green with its flexible exhaust capture system, which attaches to all vessel classes without modification to remove 99% of emitted particulate matter (PM) and 95% of emitted oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Over the lifetime of this new agreement with Toyota, Stax estimated the service will account for approximately 3,700 hours and more than 47 tons of emissions controlled.
“We set out to provide an emissions capture and control solution that was reliable, easily accessible, and cost-effective. As we begin to service Toyota, we’re confident that we can meet the needs of the full breadth of the maritime industry, furthering our impact on the local air quality, public health, and environment,” Mike Walker, CEO of Stax, said in a release. “Continuing to establish strong partnerships will help build momentum for and trust in our technology as we expand beyond the state of California.”